What is something that few people know about
elephants?
If you watch an elephant you can see when it’s
concentrating – when it’s not flapping its ears
and pins them back. Normally, they flap them
gently when they’re relaxed and flap them
faster when they’re excited. However, when an
elephant looks you in the eye and pins its ears
back and spends time examining you up close,
you really do feel a connection and realise for a
moment just how intelligent they are.
Do they have their own personalities?
I used to have a favourite elephant called
Princess. Unfortunately, she died and in the
process broke my heart. After that I decided
I wouldn’t allow myself to have a favourite
as I couldn’t go through the pain again. Each
elephant at the sanctuary, and I’m sure equally,
each elephant in the wild, clearly has its own
personality. Often this has been shaped by
years of working and the conditions in which
the elephant has been kept. One of the wonders
of EVP is seeing these personalities come out in
the elephants. We’ve seen aggressive elephants
become gentle and brave elephants become fun
and playful through the experience of living in
a herd again.
Is it ever ethically right to ride an elephant or
does doing so inevitably cause harm?
There’s no way I can tell people who really
want to ride an elephant that they shouldn’t.
The people who own them are charged with
looking after some of the most complicated
and rare animals in existence and they deserve
to earn a decent income. However, people who
want to ride should pay attention to the animal
before riding it and see whether there are any
obvious signs of mistreatment. If they’re not
so concerned with this, then the real question
is whether it’s right to ride an animal that’s so
rare and unique. You wouldn’t, for example,
ride a hippo or a giraffe. Perhaps consider
sponsoring the elephant to spend the day
grazing in a grass field instead?
elephantvalleyproject.org
36
FAHTHAI
STOPOVER
eco travel
There are an estimated
85 captive elephants left in
Cambodia, with 54 in the
province of Mondulkiri.
There are an additional
250 to 260 believed to be
living in the wild, with the
Siema Protected Forest in
Mondulkiri alone boasting
about 140. There are
currently 12 elephants
based at EVP. Visitors can
take part in a series of
volunteering projects with
the elephants at EVP.
On
location
Check out our
destination guide
on page 85
and book
your flights at
bangkokair.com
“We have seen
aggressive elephants
become gentle and brave
elephants become fun
and playful ”
The
elephant
c unt
S A N C T U A R Y
